Check Harriet's site here.I'm unable to sign in at Shadow Shot this morning, but I'm so excited about having a little sunshine, I'm posting these anyway.

This is a shadow shot of Mojo and Sam on the deck and they seem as confused by seeing shadows again as I was!A bare lilac bush, dreaming of spring! And me in the corner with camera.And last but not least, Sam Schnauzer, the guardian, ever alert!Have a beautiful Shadow Shot Sunday!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Last fall, when I was still very new to blogging, I posted a poem that I had written for a poetry class I had taken several years ago. A friend of mine in California recently asked me if I would post it again on this blog -- I got shut out of my original blog as some of you may know. So, I found it again and here it is.

Perplexed

Some days I can find the beauty in growing oldTime to read, write, explore cyberspace.Time to knit, try new recipes or fix old favorites.Sleeping in, staying up late -- no schedules.

Time to read, write, and explore cyberspace,Which in turn leads me to discover things now out of reach.Sleeping in, staying up late -- yeah, no schedules.It's suddenly far too easy to discover just what's wrong with that.

Which in turn leads me to discover things that I miss,The excitement of meeting a deadline on a project, a night on the town.It's suddenly not so easy to find what's wrong with that.And looking forward to a night of dancing the tango, oh, the best!

The excitement of meeting a deadline on a project, a night on the town.I miss that kind of "busy", the feeling that my life had a real purpose,And looking forward to a night of dancing the tango -- still the best.I am learning new things, doing new things, but it's not the same.

I miss that kind of "busy", the feeling that my life had a real purpose,Not just time to knit or try new recipes or fix old favorites,And I am learning new things, doing new things, but it's not the same.Still, some days I can find the beauty in growing old.

I realized as I was typing this today that I don't even think about getting older any more and my life in many ways has become as exciting as it was before -- different but still exciting. I realized you never get too old to have someone, some thing take your breath away. You never get too old to wake with a sense of joy and an eagerness to take on the day, to discover something/someone that opens that door to all the beauty, the love, the joy that you might have thought had slipped out of your life forever. Life is and always will be exactly what you choose to make of it.

The house was very dark so the paramedic asked Kathleen, a 3-yr old girl to hold a flashlight high over her mommy so he could see while he helped deliver the baby.

Very diligently, Kathleen did as she was asked. Heidi pushed and pushed and after a little while, Connor was born.

The paramedic lifted him by his little feet and spanked him on his bottom. Connor began to cry. The paramedic then thanked Kathleen for her help and asked the wide-eyed 3-yr old what she thought about what she had just witnessed. Kathleen quickly responded,

'He shouldn't have crawled in there in the first place......smack him again!'

Happy Sky Watch Friday! Join us Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, FishingGuy and Louise and share your skies with us. Click here to sign up.This is my sky occupied only by beautiful clouds and breathtaking colors.These last three photos were taken by my son who is overseeing the installation of wireless receivers in the Portland area. It shows how our world, our skies are being occupied by a new age. Still beautiful, but different.

Time out for a giggle! I have such wonderful friends that keep me supplied with the funny stuff and well as the serious stuff. Frankly, this morning I was ready for a laugh. So, why did the chicken cross the road? SARAH PALIN: Well you know, that chicken was crossin' Main Street because the gosh darn economy is so bad that Joe Six Pack and Hockey Mom were chasin' it for dinner.

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don' t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun? COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks .

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone .

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRAND PA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace .

BILL GATES : I have just released eChicken 2009, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2009. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

The following quote is from my friend, Maithri of The Soaring Impulse. It is a beautiful story of a heroic little Japanese girl.

"In the name of Sadako Sasaki I would like to ask that everyone reading these words change their internet homepage to the following website:

http://www.thehungersite.com/

I am not affiliated with the 'hungersite' in any way, but each time you click, a bowl of rice is given to someone without food. At no charge to you."

Even if you just put the hungersite in your list of favorites and make a point of going there each day, and clicking, you can make such a difference! It's something we can all do without any cost to us which I know is a big consideration during these times when money is so tight, but there is so much good we can do in this world if we are willing to just take a few moments.

Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so very appropriate.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side..

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.George Carlin

Last spring I joined a group to take a trip to the tulip festival in Skagit Valley about an hours drive from Seattle. It reminded me of a similar trip that I enjoyed while living in Europe when three of my friends and I went to the tulip festival in Keukenhof in the Netherlands. And, this one had the same incredible beauty and color! Click on any of the photos to enlarge.Northwest Washington's Skagit Valley comes alive with brilliant color each spring. Acres and acres of daffodils, tulips, irises, and lilies entice visitors to the towns of La Conner and Mount Vernon. They come to take in the pastoral beauty, and to enjoy the annual festivities. The flower-viewing season begins with dainty yellow daffodils in mid- to late-March; a rainbow of tulips takes the stage in April. Irises and lilies follow, providing color well into the month of May. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival celebrates this annual burst of spring color. Mother Nature decides exactly when the festival begins, with special events scheduled throughout the month of April. While spring is clearly the most popular time for a visit, Skagit Valley is a great getaway all year round. The fertile valley and water views inspire many artists, giving rise to a number of shops and galleries. Located only an hour north of Seattle, the rural panoramas provide a convenient and relaxing escape from city life.And while as the day winds down the colors in the fields seems to fade, but then the skies turn on their own show of colors.

Please click here and join us along with Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, FishingGuy and Louise who sponsor this great site and show YOUR WORLD!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

If anger be the basis of our political activities, the excitement tends to become an end in itself, at the expense of the object to be achieved. Side issues then assume an exaggerated importance, and all gravity of thought and action is lost; such excitement is not an exercise of strength, but a display of weakness. Tagore

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha

And finally in light of the present financial crisis, it's interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.'

/\ NamasteWhen there have been so many wise men from everywhere in the world for so many, many years who have written so eloquently on subjects that are as relevant today as they've ever been, why is it that ignorance and downright stupidity still flourish and even seems on the rise? I have no comments to make on these three quotes because they speak so clearly, so eloquently on their own.

I leave you with a field of tulips from Skagit Valley and another breathless look at Snoqualmi Falls.

A New Jersey couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left New Jersey and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day. The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read :

To: My Loving Wife Subject: I've Arrived Date: October 16, 2007

I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I've seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then!!!! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

What Can I Say?

I'm interested in almost everything. Use to like to travel, but it's too expensive now. I take Tai Chi classes, swim, volunteer in a Jump-start program for pre-schoolers. I'm an avid reader and like nearly everyone these days I follow politics avidly. I'm a former teacher and Special Projects Coordinator for a Telecommunications company, Assistant to the President of a Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing company. Am now enjoying retirement -- most of the time. I have two daughters, one son-in-law and two sons scattered all over the country. No grandchildren.

Stop Hate Starting Here

I Never Saw Another Butterfly

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellowPerhaps if the sun’s tears would singagainst a white stone....

Such, such a yellowIs carried lightly ’way up high.It went away I’m sure because it wished to kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks I’ve lived in herePenned up inside this ghetto.But I have found what I love here.The dandelions call to meAnd the white chestnut branches in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly. That butterfly was the last one.Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.

Written by Pavel Friedman, June 4, 1942 Born in Prague on Jan. 7, 1921.Deported to the Terezin Concentration Camp on April 26, 1942. Died in Aushchwitzon Sept. 29, 1944.

Thank You, Anthony!!

Check out his blog and photos!

Chasing Ashes

I love to write and it has been a hobby for a long time. Mysteries were always my escape reading during some of the darker times of my life and I finally decided to give it a try. I've actually written seven over the years. Unfortunately, my last computer disaster resulted in my losing three of the latest four. I did manage to salvage this one.